John egbert earnshaw



No. 387,499. Patented Aug. 7, 1888.

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JOHN ROBERT EqRNsH/w,

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travel lengthwise in said socket.

NITED STATES `PATENT OFFICE.

CORD-HOLDER FOR VENETIAN BLINDS, 80C.

SPECIFICATION rormingparr of Letters Parent No. 387,499. dated August 7. 1888- Application filed July 20, 1887. Serial No. 244.818. (No model.) Patented in England March 19,1887, No. 4,171.

To all whom it may concern.:

Be it known that I, JOHN ROBERT EARN- SHAW, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Manchester, in the county of Lancaster, England, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Cord-Hold ers for Venetian Blinds, 8m., patented to me 1n Great Britain and Ireland by Letters Patent No. 4,171, dated March 19, 1887, of which the following is a specification.'

The primary object of this invention is the construction of a self-acting cord holder or catch whereby the two cords of a Venetian blind may be securely grasped simultane onsly to hold the blind at any desired height, and which is equally applicable for holding the cords of a ventilator or bird-cage or for any analogous purpose.

Another object of the invention is to facilitate freeing the cords from the action of the holder at will for lowering the blind or perniltting the cords to run through unobstructe y.

A last object is to facilitate making and uniting the parts of the holder.

The invention consists in certain novel combinations of parts, as hereinafter set forth and claimed.

Figure l of the accompanying drawings is a fr ont elevation, and Fig. 2 a sectional front view, of my improved cord-holder. Figs. 3 and 4 are end views representing the upper and lower ends of the holder, respectively; and Fig. 5 represents alongitudinal section on the line 5 5.

In producing my improved cord-holder I use, by preference, ahollow metallic socket or casing, a,which on the inside is provided with upwardly-converging side walls, b b, while its front and back walls are parallel with each other. Inside this socket a, I insert a correspondingly-tapered wedge, c, adapted to freely Sufficient space is left on either side of the wedge c within the socket for one of the cords d, so that both cords may run through freely when the wedge is in the larger end of the socket, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

The socket-casting a is attached in a vertical position,with its small end uppermost, by

means of screws e f, one of which, f, passes through the extended and perforated front wall of the socket and prevents the escape of the wedge c, which normally rests upon this stop-screw, as represented by dotted lines in Fig. 3. The parts are thus securely united without additional fastenings. Said extended front wall of the socket-casting a is provided at its lower end, on the respective sides of the stop-screwf, with a pair of inclines, g, and by holding the cords d forward in contact with these inclines, as represented in Fig. 5, they are spread and kept far enough apart to run through freely either downward, as represented by arrows in Fig. 3, or upward, (backward,) as represented by dotted arrows in Fig. 5; but when the cords are held back by the hand which grasps them, so as to be unaffected by said inclines g, they are naturally parallel with each other or converging between the hand and the wedge c, and thus in contact with the wide lower end of the wedge in either of its positions. Consequently when the cords d are permitted to run upward parallel or converging, as aforesaid, they carry the wedge c between them to its elevated effective position, where it clamps both cords against the converging sides b of the socket, as illustrated by Fig. 2. If the wedge be in said effective position, any downward pull on the cords carries the wedge with them until it drops or rests upon the stop-screwf, as illustrated by dotted lines in the same figure.

Having thus described my said improvement in cord-holders for Venetian blinds, Sto., I claim as my inventionl. Acord-holderhavingasocket constructed with upwardlyconverging side walls and a correspondingly-tapering wedge which travels freely up and down within said socket, in combination with a pair of cords interposed between said wedge and the respective side walls, substantially as herein specified.

2. In a cordholder, a socket constructed with upwardly converging side walls and provided at its lower end with a stop and a pair of inclines, in combination with an upwardlytapering wedge which travels freely up and down within said socket, and a pair of cords interposed between said wedge and the re- IOO and parallel front and back Walls, an upwardlyspeetive side walls, substantially as herein lsoeket,subsmnbial1y as herein specified, for 10 specified. I the purpose set forth.

3. The combination7 in a oord-holder, of a In testimony whereof I affix my signature in socket having upWardlyeonverging side walls I presence of two Witnesses.

JOHN ROBERT EARNSHAV.

Witnesses:

JOHN G. VILsoN, l JOHN SLATER.

tapering wedge which travels up and down within said socket, andan attaehingserew which passes through said front; Wall and beneath said wedge at the lower end of the 

